For

1795.

BENEVOLENCE REWARDED.

A TALE.

(Continued from p. 352.)

THE

HE memory of Mrs. Vincent was now completely revived in the mind of Mr. Whitmore. To her charity and benevolence was he, perhaps, indebted for the continuance of that life which he now enjoyed in fo much eafe and affluence; and day after day he determined to difregard the diftance and every difficulty, and make a vifit to his benefactress, to exprefs his gratitude, and perhaps with a little pardonable exultation to difplay the change which had taken place in his circumstances, and at which he could not doubt but goodness like hers would feel a fincere pleasure. The dream, befides, had a confiderable influence on him. Hearts of fenfibility, animated with the lively glow of the generous paffrons, have almost always fome tincture of enthufiafm, bordering frequently on fuperftition, which no effort of the judgment, no process of reasoning can entirely diffipate.

Still, however, fome circumftance continually occured to prevent his journey; but no day now paffed over without his thinking of M、s.

Vincent, and determining to undertake the journey he had fo long propefed, to vifit her, though the time when he should do this was fo difficult to fix.

But while he thus wavered, he again dreamed of Mrs. Vincent; nor was it very wonderful, fince he thought fo much of her when waking, that he should likewife think of her, if he thought at all, in his fleep. He dreamed, this time, that he met her with her daughter, who appeared to him a very elegant young lady, and that Mrs. Vincent thus addreffed him : "So, John, you will not come, I find it is very nearly too late now. If you do not come to fee me, at least come and thew your gratitude to the little girl who once attended you with fo much innocent good-nature. Irrefolution, like yours, is not perhaps a pofitive vice; but it is generally as bad, and fometimes worfe than fuch a vice in its confequences. You will hear no more from me."

As fhe faid this, her countenance feemed to affume an appearance of great difpleafure, and the eyes of I the daughter appeared fuffufed with

money away in the fame manner as her mother, will be turned into the Areet to-day. She has got into pretty good hands, that he has; for lawyer Quibble has got hold of her, and he won't leave her while fhe has a penny. The lawyer is a little harp fellow, and worth a great deal of money, which fome people fay he did not come very honestly by; but that's neither here nor there he generally calls when he comes this way, and is a very good customer to me, and always pays me very honourably; fo I have nothing to do with his bufinefs, you know, fir :-for indeed I never do trouble my head about any body's bufinefs. But if you have any demands on Mrs. Vincent, I doubt you are come a little too late; for I imagine the lawyer has pretty well fecured all that is to be had.-Poor foolish woman! fhe will find now, by dearbought experience, that fhe had better not have been fo confounded charitable but, it's very true, there's no beating fenfe into fome people :why, would you believe it within thefe last fix months, though fhe has been fo worried and drained by the lawyers that he has fometimes, they fay, hardly known how to procure a meal's victuals, I have feen her myself giving half-pence and pence, fometimes without being afked, to a parcel of vagabonds, gypfies, and fuch vermin, thieves for what I know; for all's one to her, if the fancies they don't live fo well as herself, I believe; but what's bred in the bone will never come out of the flesh; fhe'll hardly ever be any wifer."

Here Mr. Whitmore was relieved from this torrent of ignorance, felfifhnels and fcandal, by the arrival of a new customer, who calling for a pint of ale, drew the attention of our hoftefs, for this time, from the folly of Mrs. Vincent to what the esteemed of the utmost importance,

the gain of a halfpenny and Mr. Whitmore was left alone to mufe.

And mufe he did;-his loquacious companion had furnished him with much matter for mufing. He was forcibly ftruck with the account given by the landlady, on the authority of Mrs. Gomper, of his own adventure; and though confcious he had never entertained the vile and atrocious defign attributed to him by this account, yet he felt that the fault of which he had been really guilty was highly reprehenfible, though it partook more of the nature of boyith thoughtlefsness than criminal intention. But what made the profoundest impreflion on his mind was the exalted character he had now heard of the goodness and generofity of the excellent Mrs. Vincent. No ftudied eulogy, no artful panegyric, could ever have conveyed half fo much true praise, as had now been bestowed by the tongue of envious scandal and base felfishness. The character of Mrs. Vincent likewife acquired additional luftre from the foil prefented to it in the perfon of her wretched cenfurer. But what was he to think of the ftrange alteration in her circumftances, and the total ruin faid to be impending over her? Should it be in his power to extricate her from her embarraffiment, how opportunely had he arrived! And here he could not avoid recollecting his two dreams, which, to fay no more of them, feemed to have a ftrange conformity with events.

The more he thought on these fubjects, the more impatient was he to reach Mrs. Vincent's; and therefore, after having made a few inquiries of the landlady, he fet for. ward, and foon arrived at her house. When he entered, he found her with her daughter, whofe beauty and elegance, the moment he faw her, made a very powerful impreffion on him, packing up the few things of

Little